


Solation

by Terminallydepraved



Series: Dakeverse [8]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Domestic Fluff, Flirting, Innuendo, Kissing, Letifer: The Christmas Special, M/M, Tildie the Cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21869029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Terminallydepraved/pseuds/Terminallydepraved
Summary: Gavin spends Christmas with Nines for the first time following the completion of their very first case together. It's definitely one way to make the yuletide hella gay.AKA Letifer: The Christmas Special
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Dakeverse [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1318424
Comments: 6
Kudos: 103





	Solation

**Author's Note:**

> it wouldnt be christmas if i didnt give us a very letifer christmas, now would it?

Gavin woke up from a dead sleep to the mellifluous sound of Tildie yowling up a storm an inch away from his ear. He opened his eyes, turned his head towards her parted jowls, and immediately closed them again. 

“Why the fuck did I think getting a cat was a good idea?” he slurred as he hid his face behind his hands. “Jesus Christ, Tildie, what’s crawled up your ass today?”

It was  _ Christmas, _ for fuck’s sake. She had no business to be this loud on Christmas _. _

A quick glance at his phone told him it was barely five. Gavin groaned and little and tossed his phone back onto the bed. Not enough sleep, but then again, when did he ever get enough? He rubbed at his eyes and laid back down, accepting the warm, furry weight that swiftly took up occupancy on his chest the moment he was horizontal once more. 

“You’re going to be the death of me one of these days,” he told her, leaning up to press a kiss to her soft nose. “Then how do you think you’re going to get fed? You can’t wake Nines up just because you’re hungry. You’d be worse off and then what will you do?”

Tildie, of course, didn’t deign to answer. She just set about purring up a storm, her tail whipping back and forth as she pondered the merits of yowling again. Gavin petted her and then lifted her off of his chest and onto the floor. “I’ll get up in a few minutes, okay?” he relented, flopping back onto the mattress. “Meet you in there, I promise.”

Tildie blinked at him and yawned. She knew this song and dance already, and she didn’t put up too much of a fuss as she turned and left the room. Gavin let out a sigh and rolled onto his back. His shoulder brushed something still and cold. The blankets must have shifted. Usually he made sure Nines was bundled up good and snug; no one liked to wake up hugging an ice cube after all. Even one as sexy as Nines.

Gavin tugged the blankets back over his shoulders to rebuild the barrier once more. He’d learned a few things about shacking up with a vampire in the few scant months he’d know Nines, and one of those things was that wintertime was simultaneously the best and worst time for them. Sure, the added hours of night made it so they weren’t racing the sun home every time their shifts ended, and yeah, it left more time for them to see one another and enjoy the benefits of each other’s company, but it also meant that Nines was liable to wake up well before him _.  _

And when Nines woke up, Gavin tended to wake up too, willingly or otherwise. 

Thankfully, the opposite wasn’t true. Gavin rolled over to face the corpse lying next to him. The blankets had slipped away a little, baring pale flesh to the cold of the room. If that had happened to Gavin, it would have woken him up in an instant. But not Nines. He was out for the count and, come hell or high water, he wouldn’t stir for anything less than a sunset. Gavin envied him a little for that. Tildie could sit on his face for hours and he’d still wake up fully rested. If she tried that on Gavin, he’d smother within an hour.

Gooseflesh rose on Gavin’s arm when he brought it out of the warm sanctity of the blankets. Brushing some of Nines’s hair away from his closed eyes, Gavin pressed a kiss to his cold cheek. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” he whispered, imagining the furrowing of a dark brow or the scrunching of a nose. Nines didn’t even twitch, but sometimes it was nice to pretend anyway. 

Beyond the bedroom, Gavin heard the unmistakable sound of something heavy falling to the ground. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he groaned, dropping his face into the pillow. Owning a cat was a never ending battle between Tildie and himself, and sometimes he didn’t know who was winning. Nines didn’t move a muscle, still sleeping like the literal dead. Gavin groaned louder and forced himself out of bed.

The floor was ice cold against his bare feet, the frigid air hellish against his skin, and if that wasn’t enough to urge him to go back to bed and ignore everything outside the door, the sight of the Christmas tree toppled over and Tildie yowling from within its evergreen depths sealed the fucking deal. 

Jesus fucking Christ. He should have just stayed in bed. 

“How many fucking times do I have to tell you that just because we have a tree inside the house that it doesn’t give you an open invitation to climb it?” Gavin crossed the room and grabbed for the base of the tree, feet shuffling through the presents blocking his progression with every step. Tildie mewed at him from her tangled perch, one paw caught in the loop of twine holding an ornament on a branch while the rest of her body dangled limply over several bent boughs. Gavin sighed at her as he righted the tree. “I should just leave you here, dumbass. I could tell Nines that Santa brought him a bundle of trouble just so I won’t have to deal with your sorry ass.”

Tildie just gave him another baleful meow and waited for him to extract her from her plastic prison. Half of the ornaments had to come off to get to her, and the lights were an absolute mess once Gavin managed to grab her by the scruff and lift her into his waiting arms. Gavin gave her an exasperated look and a rueful kiss to the head that she really didn’t deserve, but sorta did anyway for making his already thrilling life that much more exciting. 

“I’ve gotta fix the mess you made now,” he said as he put her back on the ground. “Breakfast is gonna be that much later, and you only have yourself to blame for it.”

She meowed pitifully at him, rubbing against his bare shins. Gavin tried to stay strong. 

He crumpled like tissue paper within ten seconds. 

He sighed as he gave into her demands, and he sighed as he went for the cat food under the sink. Tildie, ever grateful, tried to trip him every step of the way. Gavin rolled his eyes and left her to her feasting once the food was in the bowl. He went back into the living room and assessed the damage her little stunt had wrought. 

Even half stripped and out of its designated corner, the Christmas tree was small but bright. A few presents had been tossed to the side, one conspicuously missing a bow, but the vast majority of them were untouched and still as shittily wrapped as they’d been when he sat down and put them together. Gavin let out another sigh and set to cleaning up the mayhem. With any luck he’d have it all squared away before Nines woke up. 

It was a novel feeling, setting up a Christmas tree twice. Practice made perfect with most things, but Gavin had a feeling it’d take him awhile before he managed to make the act feel or look natural. Hell, every time he came into the room and  _ saw  _ the tree the sight took him by surprise. He’d never really bothered with decorating before, at least, not since he had his sister over that one year. It hadn’t been that great of a memory. She’d just needed a place to stay and hadn’t wanted to dish out for a hotel. They’d exchanged awkward presents over breakfast and then she’d cleared out to go visit her friends. Gavin cleaned up and went back to bed and that was that. 

He hadn’t planned on doing much to celebrate this year either. The most he’d anticipated was tossing some badly wrapped gift on Tina’s desk and picking up some of the good snacks for Tildie. 

Of course, that had been before Nines entered his life.

Shockingly enough, Nines’s horrible, shittastic family life pre- and post-vampirism had never lent itself well to celebrating the holidays. They’d spent one evening off work walking through downtown Detroit to see the light displays, casually discussing their families and holiday traditions, and he’d been treated to an hour long recital of just how shitty Nines’s life had been up until now. 

“My parents died when Connor and I were teenagers,” he’d said blandly, staring up at the big multi-colored light display mounted on the side of one of the skyscrapers. “We’d try for holidays after that, but they never really… felt real. Like we were just putting on happy faces to play a role for everyone around us. Connor did it better than me. I just… stopped trying. Then we started the company and we were too busy to play pretend.”

And then Elijah Kamski came into their lives and nothing ever went back to normal for them. Connor left and Nines was left on his own, and when he was poached and forcibly brought into the fold, celebrating things like Christmas were so far from the realm of possibility that it inhabited an entirely different solar system. 

It’d been about as tragic as half a dozen Old Yellers bundled up in tinsel, but not that surprising given all Gavin knew about Nines already. He’d done what any good boyfriend would do and held his hand, murmured a completely helpless, “That really sucks,” and taken him to see a movie instead. 

The next day he asked if Nines wanted to celebrate with him. 

As Gavin hung up the last fallen ornament, he still wondered if it’d been a good decision on his part. They hadn’t been dating all that long. Weren’t there rules about spending holidays together like this? 

Then again, Gavin had a feeling the rules didn’t really apply when you were dating a vampire. Especially one you worked with every night. 

“Gavin?” a quiet voice called out behind him, soft and smooth. “What are you doing on the floor?”

Gavin let go of the branch he had been trying to bend back into its proper position and looked over his shoulder. Nines, quiet as a whisper, had somehow entered the living room without making a sound. Around his shoulders he carried the topmost comforter from the bed, his hair an artful mess as he rubbed the sleep from one of his eyes. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt or pants. Just a pair of boxers he’d probably snagged off the floor.

Christ, Gavin kinda wished he had all of that wrapped up under this tree. 

Clearing his throat, he turned back to the tree and teased, “Oh, did someone finally join the living?” 

“That’s not an answer,” Nines returned, the blanket dragging quietly across the ground as he drew closer. “Did something happen to the tree?”

Gavin shrugged and waved his hand in the general direction of the kitchen. “Little Miss Troublemaker over there thought she’d protest my attempt to sleep another two minutes after she deemed it time for breakfast.” One cluster of branches refused to be anything but a cat-shaped hole. He put both hands into it and tried to cover it anyway. “Sorry if my Hallmark-movie quality decorations are fucked up now.” He bit down on his lip and tried a little harder. “I guess picture-perfect Christmas’s aren’t on Tildie’s list of priorities.”

Above his head Nines fiddled with a crooked ornament. It was just some lame little ball one, the kind that came in the cheap packs of twelve at Walmart. Nines touched its matte red surface as if it were a priceless family heirloom. “It’s fine,” he said quietly, pushing it into place. “It’s more than I’m used to as it is.”

An ache rose up in the pit of Gavin’s chest. He let out a quiet breath and stopped fucking with the branches. “Well, we’re both up now,” he led, tugging on the edge of the blanket until Nines stopped looking at the ornaments and started looking at him instead. “What do you say we start opening presents?”

Nines’s eyes went wide. The blanket slipped down his shoulders a little as his grip slackened. “Presents?” he echoed, looking down at the few gifts scattered around his bare feet. “Don’t you want breakfast first too?”

Gavin shrugged, scooting out from under the tree to sit with his side against the coffee table. He propped an arm on it and gestured vaguely. “I can eat after,” he figured. Hell, he’d only been asleep for a few hours anyway. Dinner wasn’t as old a memory as he’d like it to be just yet, and it’d probably do him some good if he held out a little bit longer before digging into the package of cinnamon rolls he’d sprung for. 

Nines bit his bottom lip and looked at the tree, then at the hall. “I’ll be right back,” he murmured, turning back towards the bedroom. The blanket dragged behind him like a cape. “Get Tildie. She needs to open presents too.”

Did he suddenly feel like putting on a shirt? Newsflash, Santa had already come, Nines. He won’t see you in your panties and get a twist in his own. Gavin rolled his eyes and huffed out a breath as he rose to his feet. In times like these it was just easier to go along with the strange request and see where it would take him. 

In either case, Tildie looked like she had finished her breakfast. She stared at him when he joined her by her partially empty bowl, and she didn’t fight it as he dipped down to pick her up. She curled up in his arms like a particularly pliant noodle. “Merry Christmas, Miss Tee,” Gavin murmured, kissing her soft ears. “You ready for your presents?”

The little idiot didn’t know it yet but the vast majority of the gifts under the tree were for her. He’d talked to Nines about it when they first broached the topic of celebrating together, and they’d both come to a general conclusion that getting gifts for each other was a bit much for either of them just yet. Buying for TIldie felt safer and easier, and Gavin had gone ahead and wrapped the few gifts for his friends and left them under the tree to fill out the remaining empty space. Tina was going to be so ecstatic come Monday. With the giant box of K-Cups he got her, now she’d have no choice but to buy her own Keurig. 

Of course, he’d gone ahead and found a gift for Nines anyway. As he moved back into the living room, his eyes skimmed the base of the tree and found the small little present tucked behind the box that held a new cat bed for Tildie. It just hadn’t felt right to get Nines nothing after all they’d been through together. If Nines threw a hissy fit over it he figured he’d just say it was a gift to his partner, not his boyfriend. 

Either way, Nines was getting a gift this Christmas whether he expected one or not. 

Gavin was just getting comfortable on the floor when Nines emerged from the hallway once more, still bundled up in the comforter. Tildie lifted her head from Gavin’s knee and meowed. “Somebody missed you,” he chuckled, holding her to his chest in a hug. 

Nines’s face softened. He came around the couch and crouched down, leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Merry Christmas, Tildie,” he said quietly. 

“What about me?” Gavin complained, pulling the cat away before she got all the attention. “Where’s my kiss?”

Sighing fondly, Nines lifted his head and pressed a chaste kiss to Gavin’s pouting lips. “Merry Christmas, you three year old,” he teased. Nines folded his legs and sat beside him, staring at the presents and the tree. He had the blanket wrapped tightly around himself, arms and chest hidden from sight as if he were cold. “So, where do we start?”

“Anywhere you want,” Gavin shrugged, leaning over to snag the nearest present. He put it in front of Tildie’s nose, letting her sniff at it curiously. If he recalled correctly, this one had some snacks for her in it. Tildie’s tail began to sway back and forth, her face nuzzled and rubbing at the corner of the brightly wrapped box. “You think she can guess what’s inside?” Fat little gremlin. She knew it was food and she wanted it bad. 

“I think she’s got an idea.” 

Heh. That was an understatement. They took turns opening presents for Tildie, dangling the toys over her head and teasing her with sniffs of the treats. “She’s already had her breakfast,” Gavin said, giving her only a couple pieces before closing the bag and cutting her off. “She can have some more in a bit. You don’t want to be sick on Christmas, do you, little lady?”

Nines held her out to receive the kiss Gavin had waiting for her nose. “You haven’t had your breakfast yet,” he murmured. “You should eat something too.”

Gavin took Tildie from him and set her on the ground among the mountain of wrapping paper littering the floor. Nines was shifting from side to side, his blanket conspicuously covering him until he looked like a shapeless lump. “I can wait,” he said, gaze shifting down to his side. God, he couldn’t wait to see what Nines thought of his gift. “Unless…” He looked up and met Nines’s furtive gaze. “Do you need to eat?”

“No, I’m fine,” the vampire mumbled, looking at the floor. “I’m still full from yesterday.”

Huh. Really. “Well, that’s good to hear.” Tildie crunched through the paper, nudging his hand with her head. Gavin rolled his eyes and petted her. She probably thought there were more presents for her, the greedy little thing. “That’s the last of them! You opened them all, Tildie,” he told her as he withdrew his hand, carefully tucking the small present beneath his leg so Nines wouldn’t see it. “We really spoiled her this year. She’s going to be terrible from here on out. I bet she’ll expect even more next Christmas.”

“A little spoiling here and there is good for her,” Nines said sagely, watching Tildie give up on sweet-talking Gavin in favor of batting at the new dangling cat toy she’d taken a liking to. 

“Good for all of us, I’d say.”

Nines lifted his head at that, cocking it to the side a little. Bundled up in his blanket as he was, he looked like a cocoon of coziness that looked so goddamn cute that Gavin felt his entire chest fill up with overwhelming emotion. Fuck, he really loved this. He loved them here like this, spending time together, doting on Tildie, acting like a family. They hadn’t been together all that long in the grand scheme of things, but working together every day and then coming home together almost every morning made it feel like longer. It made it feel more real. 

“You’re going to hate me,” Gavin said just as Nines began to say, “Why do you look like you’re about to say something stupid?”

Both of them stopped short, staring at one another blankly. Gavin snorted and Nines frowned. “Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he muttered, fishing the present out from under his thigh. “If you’re going to be a sourpuss maybe I shouldn’t give you this.”

Nines’s eyes widened. “Gavin,” he said slowly, damningly. “What is that?”

“I guess Santa decided you were a good boy after all,” Gavin said innocently, tossing the present gently up and down, catching it each time. “I mean, we all know that’s not true—” Nobody with that big of a kink for doing it raw could ever get off the naughty list— “But sometimes the big man makes a mistake and you get to reap the benefits.”

Before Nines could complain, Gavin tossed the present into his lap. “I know what you’re going to say so just save it, alright? I wanted to get you something. Open it or I’ll make you sleep on the couch for hurting my feelings.”

Nines recovered quickly. He narrowed his eyes and pouted. “You first,” he said tersely.

“What do you mean?” Gavin snorted. “You gonna kick me to the couch instead?”

The seam of the blanket opened. Out came a thin, poorly wrapped present, and Gavin suddenly realized why Nines, an undead and temperature-insensitive vampire, had kept himself so bundled up the whole time. 

The present whacked him in the chest and fell neatly into his lap. Despite the size of the thing, it was conspicuously lightweight. Above all though, Gavin couldn’t help but notice how the wrapping paper was covered in tiny little snowmen. It didn’t match any of the paper he had on hand. Where did Nines get it? Hell, where the hell had he wrapped it?

“Don’t look at it like that.”

Gavin lifted his head. “Like what?”

“Like it’s going to bite you. You open yours first,” Nines ordered, staring down at the present Gavin had thrown his way. “Then I’ll open yours.”

“Well, excuse me if I’m a little surprised is all.” Gavin stuck his finger into the seam of the paper and ripped through a corner without preamble. “We said no presents, so I figured you would’ve been the one to listen to that.”

“Because I’m the obedient one in this relationship,” Nines said dryly, watching him like a hawk as he tore away the paper. 

Gavin snorted. “You were last night.”

A crumpled up ball of paper hit him in the head. He deserved it, but he still laughed. 

He was still laughing as he finished opening the present too. It petered out as he took in the plain white box. The top was held down by a single piece of scotch tape. He gave it a little shake and tried to guess what it could be. 

“Lemme guess,” he said, giving Nines a shrewd look. “It’s a new gameboy color.”

A slim brow rose towards Nines’s hairline. “You’re aging yourself.”

“Says the one twice my age,” Gavin muttered, prying off the tape on the lid. It didn’t feel very heavy at all, and it didn’t make much noise when he shook it. He opened it up and looked inside. 

A bubble of laughter rose up before he could tamp it down. “Holy shit,” he said breathlessly, pulling the lone slip of paper tucked inside it. “Is this a business card?”

Nines’s shoulders rose up, his head dipping to hide a little. “Read it,” he said quietly. 

Gavin read it.

_ Officer Gavin Reed, DPD.  _ It had his office phone on it and the precinct’s address. “This is one of my old cards,” he realized, looking at Nines carefully. He had a box of these tucked in the back of his desk, all the remnants from before he got his promotion to detective. Unlike those ones, though, this one was worn at the edges, a little bent. “Where’d you get this?”

Nines cleared his throat. He looked at the tree and seemed to color a little bit under his scrutiny. “It’s from the night you first came back to my apartment with me,” he said quietly. “I got it from your wallet.”

“That was the night you almost killed me, right?” 

Wincing, Nines finally looked at him. “It was the night I first realized how… how smart you were. When I started looking at you like someone I wanted to know instead of someone who was in my way.” He swallowed, frowning as if this wasn’t coming out the way he wanted it to. 

“Nines, it’s—” 

“I didn’t know what to get you,” he admitted, cutting Gavin off. “So, I gave you the thing that let me stay with you. When we finished our first case, when you were in the hospital and I was finishing things with the Enforcers, I gave your card to my brother. I… told him what I wanted. I asked him for help.” Nines hung his head, his hands twisting in the fabric of the comforter. “We’ve both come so far from the moment I took this card from you. I don’t know what a Christmas present should be anymore, but I wanted to give you something meaningful.”

His lips pursed as he looked at the card in Gavin’s hand. “This felt meaningful.” 

Gavin sucked in a breath, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. He ran his thumb over the worn edge of the business card. He hadn’t even noticed one had gone missing from his wallet after that night. He’d had so many other things to worry about back then, so many questions he needed answered, and just… To think Nines had kept this for so long. That this tiny, outdated scrap of paper was responsible for giving him…

For giving him all of this. 

“Holy shit,” Gavin let out, his voice on the verge of cracking. “That’s a pretty great gift if I’m being perfectly honest.”

Nines lifted his head. His eyes were wide, his lips parted as if in disbelief. “You like it?” he breathed. 

“Yeah, babe.” Gavin looked at the card and decided he’d get a fucking frame for it, then and there. “I love it.” 

It was as if the sun rose early, right in the middle of his living room. Nines’s face blossomed into a brilliant smile, his eyes creasing at the edges as he let out a huff of laughter that warmed Gavin from the tips of his fingers to his toes. The edge of the blanket rose up to cover part of Nines’s face. God, he wanted to kiss him. But not yet. They weren’t done just yet. 

“It’s your turn,” Gavin reminded him, mostly so he could have a moment to rein himself in. “Get to it. If you’re lucky, it won’t be coal.”

The bright happiness on Nines’s face faded into one of embarrassed discomfort. He looked down at the present in his lap as if he’d forgotten about it. “I bet it’s coal,” he said quietly, picking at the present with the tips of his fingers. “You’d be the type to do that.”

Gavin didn’t say anything to refute it. He just watched and waited, a nervous sort of energy building in his stomach with every strip of paper that fell to the floor. His face began to heat up too. Fuck, this was way more nerve-wracking than he thought it would be. What if Nines didn’t like it? After the sledgehammer to the heart that Nines’s gift had been, suddenly Gavin felt like his wasn’t up to par. Waht if it wasn’t enough of a gesture? Or worse, what if it was too much too soon?

The lid came off the box. Fucking hell. It was too late to take it back now. 

Nines’s inhale was audible in the quiet of the room. He dipped his hand into the box. Out came the gift within. 

It was a knitted Christmas stocking, one that just about matched the other two hanging from the fireplace. But unlike those two, this one had its own unique little name on it.  _ Nines  _ was embroidered in silver thread just beneath the rolled top. Gavin had it made by the little old lady that lived on the floor below. He’d carried her groceries off and on for three years; she’d been ecstatic to do him a favor, especially when he let it slip it was for his boyfriend.

“Sorry it doesn’t have the same pattern as the other two,” he said self-consciously, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I got mine and Tildie’s a few years ago from some dumb little store downtown and I found out they don’t make that design anymore.” 

He’d tried though. Fuck, he’d tried, and probably too long before he did the smart thing and went knocking on Mrs. Miranda’s door. 

“Gavin…” Nines hung his head and scoffed weakly, hiding his face in the blanket as he brought his hands up to cover his eyes. His shoulders were shaking in what Gavin hoped was silent laughter. The stocking was draped limply over his knee. Tildie inched her way over to sniff at it. 

“Hey, don’t go messing with that, nib nose.” Gavin leaned forward, hand reached out to push his cat away from the sock. “That’s not for you and I’m not gonna just sit here and watch you unravel it—”

Before he could reach her, Nines lowered the blanket. Tildie paused in her nibbing to look up at him, and after a moment of silent contemplation, Nines dropped the blanket and picked her up. He held her in front of his face and pronounced, “Tildie, your father is an idiot,” in the flattest voice Gavin had ever heard.

“Wow, that’s a bit harsh.” He looked at the stocking and wondered if he shouldn’t have just gone with the  _ Coffee is my lifeblood  _ mug instead. “I got it embroidered and everything.”

Nines drew Tildie against his chest. “I don’t even have a fireplace,” he said, the flatness turning fond the longer he looked at Gavin. 

Gavin’s cheeks prickled with heat. His eyes fell to the floor, taking in a particularly interesting cluster of wrapping paper. “Yeah, well.” He coughed and crossed his arms. “I figured you could hang it up with Tildie and mine’s. We’ve got room for it. Y’know, if you wanted to do this again next time.”

The sound of Nines’s breath catching in his throat was earth-shattering. “Next time?”

Gavin met Nines’s gaze. He softened and smiled. “Yeah. Next time.” 

They looked into each other’s eyes. Gavin’s heart fluttered as Nines’s lips parted, and right as they were dangerously close to evolving into a full-blown Christmas Moment, Tildie grew tired of being held and kicked her way free from Nines’s arms. It snapped them both out of it. Gavin bit down on his lip as Nines gave a dainty little cough. Man, they should’ve put some Christmas music on or something. It was insanely quiet now. 

“Thank you,” Nines murmured, breaking it right as the silence was on the verge of becoming awkward. He picked up the stocking and traced the silvery thread with the tips of his fingers. “I… really want that.”

Gavin cleared his throat. “Good. Good. That’s… awesome. We can hang it up after breakfast then.”

“Gavin.”

Gavin stilled, looking at his boyfriend. Nines was cradling the stocking to his chest, the slightest flush on his pale cheeks playing off the glow of the tree to make him look almost human. Nines went up on his knees and moved towards him. Wrapping paper crinkled as he passed over it, carried along by the dragging train of blanket trailing behind him. 

At first, Gavin figured Nines just wanted a kiss. He saw him dip down a little, and instinct had him rising up as if to meet him halfway. But instead of puckering up, instead of closing his eyes, Nines opened his arms and drew close to Gavin’s side. He wriggled and shifted, and Gavin scooted away from the couch when it became clear that Nines wanted to curl up behind him. 

“Got lonely of being by yourself?” Gavin asked as Nines wound his arms around him, encasing him in the cocoon of his blanket. 

His back met Nines’s chest. Nines’s chin hooked over his shoulder. “You wouldn’t let me get lonely,” came the soft, honest reply. A beat passed and a cool breath tickled Gavin’s ear. “Thank you.”

If Gavin’s heart got any fuller, it’d explode. Jesus Christ. 

“That’s me,” Gavin whispered, tangling their fingers together in front of his stomach. “Mister Persistent.” 

“More like Mister Idiot.”

“That’s it, you’re definitely on the naughty list now.”

Nines wasn’t particularly warm, but his laugh was. Gavin leaned into his chest and closed his eyes, the lack of sleep and rough wake-up call fading away in the waves of contentment filtering through him. Nines’s cheek nuzzled his hair, his cool lips pressing lazy kisses here and there. 

Gavin smiled, leaning into them. 

It wasn’t quite  _ It’s a Wonderful Life,  _ but it was pretty damn good all the same. 

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you guys enjoyed this, and i wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who's helped support me over the course of this year. its been a wild ass ride and i really appreciate every single comment, kudos, and bit of love y'all have sent my way here and on twitter and discord. have a great christmas and holiday season, and happy new year!


End file.
